Chapter 2

A Former Ranker's Newbie Life - Chapter 1 (2/271)

1

I sat on the bed, staring at the floor.

For a long time.

Then I clenched and unclenched my hands.

I repeated this several times.

They were pale, clean, and unfamiliar.

But these hands, which moved according to my will, could not belong to someone else.

"Did I really come back...?"

When I spoke the words, this surreal situation began to feel a bit more real.

I came back.

Before the accident.

Before my life was shattered.

Then the answer was clear.

I couldn't waste this miraculous opportunity.

Why, how, and for what reason this miracle happened would be the next question.

As soon as I accepted the reality, Dojin picked up his smartphone.

He needed to understand his current situation.

Only then could he avoid squandering this second chance.

'The most important thing is the date.'

Since he had regressed to before the accident, he needed to avoid the traffic accident.

As he thought this, Dojin's movement stopped when he checked his smartphone screen.

'...?'

The date was three days after the accident.

'Already passed...?'

Dojin moved his stiff neck and looked at the bed.

The memory of the accident day, which he couldn't shake off, came back to him.

Three days ago... no, that day. Dojin woke up on that bed and checked the time.

"Oh, I'm late!"

Realizing he was late for his shift, he rushed out of the house.

He ran down the stairs and arrived at the crosswalk.

The signal turned green as if it had been waiting for him.

Avoiding the worst, he smiled and ran, feeling a small stroke of luck amidst the tight situation.

A loud noise rang out. Bang. The sound seemed to reverberate through his body, and he lost consciousness.

When he woke up, everything was already ruined.

Just thinking about it made him break out in a cold sweat and breathe heavily.

But the moment that had plunged his life into despair had already passed.

Dojin stared blankly at the messages on his smartphone.

The first message was from the convenience store where he worked in the morning.

Then from the store owner, followed by the café where he worked in the afternoon, and the capsule room where he worked only at night on alternate days.

Was I really that hardworking? Dojin muttered, feeling a sense of futility, and let his hand drop.

Then he started to laugh.

The laughter grew louder.

In the end, he laughed with all his might, holding his stomach.

It was a curse that had tormented him for 15 years.

A terrible curse that had shattered and destroyed the life of Dojin.

He thought it was absurd that such an event could be so easily avoided.

The idea that fate could change so whimsically made him unable to stop laughing.

So Dojin laughed for a long time, with all his might.

Through his laughter, he released many things.

Despair, sadness, regret, resentment, joy... all the things that had accumulated over the years.

* * *

Perhaps because he had poured out his emotions, he felt relieved.

That's why his body, which had been starving for four days, started to complain of hunger.

It was funny to feel hungry in such a situation, but he knew he would die if he didn't eat, so he rummaged through the refrigerator.

But all that was left was chicken breast, broccoli, and tomatoes.

Looking at the barren interior of the refrigerator, Dojin recalled that he had been working three part-time jobs while still finding time to exercise.

"Maybe it was better when I only ate energy packs."

Tired of the relentless effort, Dojin took out only the tomatoes and closed the refrigerator.

He didn't want to put chicken breast into his stomach after starving for four days, even if he was young and fit.

I'll make some soup later.

'I need to send messages first.'

Chewing on the tomato he had taken out, Dojin replied to the accumulated messages one by one.

Apologizing for being out of touch for four days and explaining that he had to quit his jobs due to an urgent situation.

"An urgent situation is an urgent situation."

Having traveled back in time, it was rare to have a more pressing situation.

With a silly thought, Dojin started to think about how he would live from now on.

Or rather, before that, he reflected on who he was at the point of regression.

Currently, Dojin was saving money by reducing even his sleeping hours after leaving the orphanage.

The reason was to buy a capsule.

Or, more accurately, to live a better life.

Like everyone else, Dojin was thirsty for success.

He had been that way since he was very young.

Perhaps it was because he had nothing and no one to rely on.

But regardless of Dojin's thirst, reality was harsh.

No matter how hard he tried, and no matter how similar his life was to others, if he started with nothing, he was more likely to end up with a worse life.

So Dojin gave up on the university he had barely qualified for.

After reading an article about the virtual reality game LOST, which had attracted millions of users within three months of its release, he decided to bet on his future.

The problem was:

'I was hit by a car while saving money to buy a capsule.'

After that, it was a familiar story.

Realizing his body was thoroughly ruined, beyond the reach of rehabilitation or prosthetics, he fell into despair.

Thinking his life was over, he spent over two years staring at the ceiling.

Before he died, he decided to relive the feeling of walking normally one last time and logged into LOST.

When he came to his senses, he had become a shut-in, pouring all his real-world compensation, insurance, and disability benefits into the game.

But he came back.

Before the misfortune began.

Now he had a chance to do anything.

Dojin pondered.

How and why he regressed were questions to be set aside.

What mattered was what he wanted to do.

How to live this newly gained life without regrets.

After much thought, Dojin's conclusion was simple.

"No matter how I come back, only one thing comes to mind."

What he wanted to do, what he was good at, everything was LOST.

Even achieving his longed-for goal of a 'successful life' seemed easiest through LOST.

He knew almost nothing about how the real world would change over the next 15 years, but he had collected information about LOST obsessively.

In his previous life, he started playing LOST three years after its launch, but now it had only been five months since the game's release, which was a huge advantage.

If he failed under these conditions, he would be a fool, and Dojin had no intention of living as a fool this time.

With this second chance, Dojin decided to head towards LOST.

'As I progress, the secret of my regression will naturally unravel.'

Leave the unsolvable, unresolvable questions to the future.

If he kept moving forward in LOST, he would find the answers.

Just not the same way as before.

Without ignoring reality and destroying himself.

Aim to live a wonderful life that satisfies himself.

It would be a waste to squander this miracle.

Dojin looked at his pale, clean hands and made a vow.

* * *

Dojin looked at the capsule that filled his studio apartment with a moved expression.

It was a bulky, old, and cheap model, but it was the most precious thing to him now.

'How can it not be precious, costing over 30 million won?'

He had invested all 9 million won of his savings, except for the minimum living expenses, and still had to pay off a lease of about 25 million won, including interest.

After buying the LOST subscription, his bank balance was down to 240,000 won.

This was a desperate investment.

However, Dojin wasn't overly worried about the money he had spent.

Knowing what would happen in LOST over the next 15 years, money was no longer an issue for him.

In his previous life, success was defined by money, but now money was just a means to achieve fun, happiness, and convenience in life.

Still, to make life interesting, he needed short-term and specific goals.

Vague goals like a happy life, a successful life, or a fulfilling life were too abstract.

What would be a good goal?

While preparing to log into LOST, Dojin thought seriously.

But this was actually a meaningless question.

He didn't need any other goals, being so obsessed with the game.

"Since I'm starting... I should aim for it this time."

Nothing else came to mind except standing at the pinnacle of LOST.

It's so simple, which is good.

Click.

Dojin lay down in the capsule and closed his eyes.

At the same time,

A new world opened up.

* * *

【The light of the Creation Star, which illuminates Rosania, is fading.】

The prologue of LOST began with a woman's voice tinged with sadness.

A burning continent, black clouds, and red lightning filled the sky.

The final agony of the world of Rosania unfolded before his eyes.

【Since the power of the Creation Star has weakened, monsters have been endlessly born in Rosania. It seems as if they are executing a predetermined destruction, continuously threatening us. Only you can save us from them.】

Scenes of beings from other worlds, i.e., players, wielding swords and magic to defeat monsters quickly passed by.

【Oh brave adventurer, if you can hear the voice of Rosania, please respond. We invite you to the adventure-filled world of Rosania. We will reward your dedication with thrilling adventures!】

Listening to the passionate and moving voice, Dojin thought:

'This always feels like a propaganda video encouraging young people to enlist during wartime.'

It wasn't a wrong thought.

The setting is that we players are called as adventurers to deal with the endless monsters due to the weakening power of the Creation Star.

Anyway, as a reward for watching the unskippable prologue, character creation became possible.

'No changes to appearance.'

Dojin set his appearance to match his real-life look without hesitation.

His appearance, which had been like a mannequin made of white clay, transformed into that of a sharp-eyed, tall young man.

There was no hesitation this time either.

'Dojin.'

In his previous life, he had used a different appearance but the same name.

With just two settings, the one-time-only LOST character creation was complete.

"I never thought I'd walk this path again."

The path of light he had walked in his previous life.

Walking it again felt like...

Another regression.